The Dangers of Fentanyl Abuse

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 at 06:39

Fentanyl abuse made headlines when it took several lives out west, but is it making its way into Oxford County?

OXFORD COUNTY - A deadly drug that made headlines in British Columbia could be making its way into Oxford County.

Fentanyl is most commonly distributed as a patch meant to relieve pain in cancer patients, but it has also been found in a powered form put into pills.

Oxford County Public Health Nurse Lisa Gillespie breaks down exactly what these 'fake oxycontin pills' are and how dangerous they can be."With these fake oxycontin pills making its ways into Oxford County you don't know what is in there, and how much is in there, so it could kill someone the first time they use it. What these fake ones are is fentanyl powder and caffeine stamped to look like oxycontin pills. They are very deadly." The pills are particularly dangerous as manufacturers add in other unknown substances as pure fentanyl pills were killing people too quickly.

But the pills aren't the only method being abused. Gillespie says those patches meant to help people, are also causing problem when misused. "The fentanyl patch is meant for 72 hours of pain control and it could lead to an opiate overdose which causes signs and symptoms such as respiratory failure. You will think they are just in a deep sleep, that you should try and wake the person up; blue fingernails, lips are blue, pinpoint pupils are all indications that you should seek medical attention immediately."

Oxford County Public Health is encouraging people to turn in those patches when you are finished using them so they don't fall into the wrong hands, because even the residual medicine left in the patches can be harmful when abused.

Oxford County could be at risk because the lure of opiates has ensnared people in this region before. "Opiates can be addictive if not taken as prescribed. We do know that opiate addiction and abuse is an issue in Oxford County," says Gillespie. Fentanyl is said to be 100 times more powerful than morphine.

There have been some unconfirmed reports of these pills in our area.